Donation to Norgrove Foundation Marks Marcotte Retirement

August 04, 2014

DAI’s Senior Vice President, U.S. Government Business Unit, Betsy Marcotte retired from the company this month after nine years of service.

To celebrate her tenure, and particularly her devotion to the cause of development in Afghanistan, DAI made a $10,000 donation in Betsy’s name to the Linda Norgrove Foundation, a grant-giving trust that funds education, health, and childcare for women and children affected by the war in Afghanistan.

The foundation was started by John and Lorna Norgrove, the parents of Linda Norgrove, a DAI employee abducted in the course of her work in Afghanistan and killed in a rescue attempt on October 8, 2010.

After joining DAI in 2005, Betsy ran DAI’s Agriculture and Natural Resources Group, directing a team of technical and project management staff responsible for winning new business and running projects in the fields of agriculture, agribusiness, natural resources and water management, and alternative livelihoods. She was instrumental in developing a health practice focused on strengthening the capacity of developing countries to prepare for and respond to outbreaks of avian influenza and other emerging diseases.

Marcotte led DAI’s efforts to expand its portfolio of projects in Afghanistan, where she directed the establishment of a corporate office to provide in-country management and support for DAI’s growing portfolio.

In 2008, she was appointed Senior Vice President for Operations, leading DAI’s technical service areas, project management, and business acquisitions functions. In 2011, she took on a more focused brief leading DAI’s work in the U.S. Government services market and overseeing improvements in project management functions.

“I came to development sort of as a second career,” Betsy said of her work in development. “I had been working domestically on environmental issues and had the opportunity to move into international work—and I grabbed it, and it’s the best thing that ever happened to me.”

“While I only spent one quarter of my working life at DAI, it was by far the richest, most meaningful part of my career,” Betsy added in her farewell remarks to staff, more than 200 of whom came together to mark her retirement in a gathering at the Strathmore Music Center in North Bethesda, Maryland.

DAI this week hosted Chloe Schwenke for a presentation in its Bethesda office. Schwenke is a leading voice in the efforts to integrate sexual minorities into the work of the international development community.

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